Kerala detects 5 new coronavirus cases; national tally at 39
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Sunday reported five more positive cases of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19. The Minister said that all five cases are located in the state's Pathanamthitta district. Incidentally, Kerala was the first Indian state to detect a positive coronavirus case. With this latest development, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stands at 39.
Out of the five new cases in Kerala, three involve patients—a 55-year-old man, his 53-year-old wife, and their 24-year-old son—with travel history to Italy. Italy is notably one of the worst-hit countries with over 5,800 positive cases and 233 deaths. The other two patients—aged 65 and 61—are their relatives, Shailaja said. The patients had not shared their travel history with airport authorities.
According to The News Minute, Shailaja said that the three persons went home after returning from Italy and later did not share their travel history with healthcare professionals when they went to a private hospital. Their travel history was shared by their two other relatives when they too developed symptoms and visited a hospital. On March 6, all five were isolated.
The three persons returning from Italy had boarded a Qatar Airways flight from Venice to Kochi via Doha. They reportedly traveled via flights QR-126 Venice-Doha and QR-514 Doha-Kochi, landing in Kerala on February 29. Shailaja urged the flight's passengers to report to authorities.
Shailaja rapped the "highly irresponsible" behavior of the family, adding that two grandparents in the family have been shifted to the Kottayam Medical College. They were reportedly experiencing high fever, a symptom of COVID-19. Shailaja said, "People who have traveled from coronavirus-affected countries like Italy and Iran should inform the government and not doing so will be considered as a crime."
Till Saturday, authorities had screened 7,26,122 people from 7,108 flights at airports, the government said. At least 52 laboratories across the countries are conducting tests for COVID-19. 57 additional laboratories have been equipped to collect samples from suspected patients.
Per NewsBytes' count, the 39 cases include 16 Italian nationals touring Rajasthan and their Indian driver. There are 3 confirmed cases in Delhi, including the PayTm employee. Other cases: Hyderabad (1) in Telangana; Ghaziabad (1) and Agra (6) in Uttar Pradesh; Ladakh (2); Kancheepuram (1) in Tamil Nadu; Pathanamthitta (5) in Kerala. Three other cases in Kerala—now cured—were located in Thrissur, Alappuzha, and Kasaragod.
COVID-19 originated in China's Wuhan city in mid-December. The disease is caused by a new strain of coronavirus—thus "novel coronavirus"—called SARS-CoV-2. It has killed 3,594 people worldwide, with 2,986 deaths in mainland China alone. Globally, the disease has infected over a lakh across around 90 countries. SARS-CoV-2 impacts a host's respiratory system, causing flu-like symptoms. Severe cases witness pneumonia, multiple organ failure, or death.
